need opinions on 64bit

I know there pros and cons of 64bit, like compatibility issues, speed, ram etc. But should I get a 64bit windows? Is it worth it? What are your experiences? My only concern really is the RAM... I'm guessing there's no hack or patch to get more ram, but anyway. Just searching for opinions

thanks

 

Nope, 64-bit OS is the only way for windows to see 4GB of RAM.

 

advantages of 64 bit:

can include more ram
utilise the full capabilities of the processor
marginally faster than 32 bit computing
well...........the future

disadvantage:
driver issues- you may not get proper drivers for all devices
software issues- certain software refuses to work on x64 environment

 

I have used VistaU x64 on my desktop for about 6 months and no problems yet. Games run ok and only 1 or 2 apps wouldn't install (some temp monitoring utilitities and a disk defragger if i remember correctly).

 

Its the Future... its for ultra geeks.

Not for normal usage.

If u run big big programs ..then go for it.

 

64bit Vista is ok, as there are somewhat decent drivers for it. 64bit XP is a nightmare. The main question would be, are you running anything that requires more than 3.5GB of RAM or a 64bit instruction set? If yes, then consider switching to 64bit Vista.

 

You can run Vista x64 just because you want to, not because you need to.

 

@darthsat


your signature shows you have 8gb RAM.!!! how did u plug in 8 gb into xps m1330. have they released 4gb sticks yet ??

 

Wtf are you talking about? It's people like you who scare the new users out of experimenting with new things.

x64 = Must have. I haven't had a single game or software which refused to run properly on my notebook, and I've found every single driver easily.

 

Haha 8gig RAM on an XPS m1330. The laptop grew two more slots! Seriously, if your programs can run on Vx64 go for it. And if you do lots of video/image manipulation and/or gaming go for 4gb RAM. Some programs that I found that doesn't work with Vx64 is NHC for XP, dLink wireless N USB adapter and Pinnacle USB TV adapter.

 

Scare? tell me about driver suppot, tell me about RAM usage,... Normal people dont even need 64 bit ... better to alert them before they dive into Deep blue sea

 

Why? So they can never want to try it? It's useless having x86 in 2008. Useless!

 

I won't talk out of my ass like certain people, and will only tell from my own experience. I got all, read ALL, of the drivers for my notebook. You just have to use Google.

RAM usage? I have 4 GB RAM, and on startup, it uses 20%, and it never goes over 40% (actually I haven't even seen it hit 40%, 38% being the maximum).

Well, we must be "abnormal" then!

I'll see you in 2010, when the "abnormals" would have taken over almost entirely.

The thing is, you probably could never figure out how to run x64 properly on your machine, could not find the drivers, and probably could not bother to search for the latest patches of your pre-1998 softwares to enable them to run smoothly on the x64 platform, and now, are "alerting" other people who are thinking of trying it, so that they do not get what you couldn't. Just a guess.

 

exactly thats what i mean... Rite now it isnt so relevant to the world.

Tell me do u think a normal user will like to spend time hunting for drivers?

 

There's a bit of difference between telling people to stay away from x64 unless you're an "ultra geek", and say that it isn't "so relevant".

If necessary, yes. Just like they do with 32-bit OS'es. And in most cases, they won't need to with 64-bit either. Because the OS comes with a ton of drivers, just like the 32-bit version.

For most people, there are precisely zero problems in running a 64-bit OS.
Moreover, more people than you think are running into problems on 32-bit, even if they aren't aware of it. If your game occasionally crashes, it might be because it's running out of memory. Several big commercial games have had problems with that. So far, they've mostly managed to avoid it happening too often, but 64 bit is very relevant.
So where's the harm in trying it, again?

 

Will the 64 bit run old games like total annihilation?

 

Maybe, Diablo 2 works fine

 

I'm glad to hear that you haven't had any problems with it since I'm going to purchase my system in 64-bit. I just want to be prepared for the future and, with more people switching, drivers should be more readily available as time goes on.

Very nice reply . . . very insightful.

 

Heh, it is meant to display 3GB, but jpeg compression resulted in that tiny font to look like an 8.

 

64 bit is the past for computers, like 1998 for mainframes, and the future for PCs. If you are thinking of a Microsoft 64 bit OS, it's a bit of a ways into the future still. At least if you want it to work.

 

thats what i am trying to say ..
But what i did was to Conclude. Hence the 64 bitters got annoyed.

Final decision is buyers anyway.

Enjoy!

 

I hate contributing to an off-topic post, but it's both resizing and jpeg compression. Try using a format like PNG instead. It's better suited for graphics. jpeg is best for pictures, you should use PNG for everything else.

And I don't use a 64bit Windows, but I'm posting this from 64bit Ubuntu 7.10 with 2GB of RAM 64bit has arrived. Software will follow soon, and is already here in many cases. I've actually found that a number of programs are slightly faster under 64bit OS's simply because there are more registers available for them... it more than offsets the slightly higher memory usage.

 

hey.......one thing no one ever mentioned in this thread.......WHAT IS THE PRICE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 32bit vista and 64bit?!?! thank you!

 

oh and also where can I find Vista 64 bit? i was looking at dell and they don't seem to offer it......which i find to be stupid because they offer up to 4GB RAM for their laptops...and they don't even tell you that 32bit doesn't support 4gigs

 

Good thing is, if you use Google properly, Microsoft has put both Vista discs 32-bit and 64-bit online for easy legal downloading. Your 32-bit OEM key will work for 64-bit Vista as long as you are installing the same version of Vista. There are a couple people on the boards that have a full set of instructions on how to do a clean install of Vista 64 on your Vista 32 laptop.

On another note, I followed one of these guides the other night and got Vista 64 up and running flawlessly. While I don't have 4 gigs of ram or really need the potential of 64-bitness. I'm not an ubergeek, and I simply put it on my laptop because I could, and why not? Your CPU is 64-bit so why not take advantage of it?

 

The price difference is $0.00... but that just means that Microsoft charges the same price... it doesn't mean that Dell offers the 64-bit version. Yes it is stupid. Fortunately Dell does offer 64-bit drivers for most models... check their support section for the model you're interested in. But you have to get a 64-bit Vista disc yourself (or I guess download it as suggested above).